Monday, June 18, 2012

Side A:1. Odds and Ends2. Million Dollar Bash3. Lo and Behold!4. This Wheel’s On Fire5. I Shall Be Released6. Please Mrs. Henry7. Too Much Of NothingSide B:8. Tears Of Rage9. Yea! Heavy and A Bottle Of Bread10. Crash On The Levee11. You Ain’t Goin Nowhere12. Quinn The Eskimo13. Open The Door, Homer14. Nothing Was Delivered

This is the Bob Dylan album that never was: his Basement Tapes, organized into a singular, cohesive album as it would have existed in 1967. I’ve used all the original recordings that do not have the extra overdubs found on the official release from 1975, and I’ve remixed this into true stereo. This will be nothing you haven’t heard before (although they are all my own unique stereo mixes), but this is presented as the presumed album that chronologically would have appeared between Blonde On Blonde and John Wesley Harding.

Throughout the first half of the 1960s, Bob Dylan had evolved from an acoustic troubadour into amphetamine-fueled rocker, culminating by his 1966 Tour, backed by The Hawks. He had encompassed the ever-changing social and musical dynamics of the 1960s and now the ears of the public were turned to Bob Dylan in a time of Brian Wilson’s symphonic pop and The Beatles neo-psychedelic rock. Ready to hear Dylan’s next triumphant move, they instead heard the sound of a motorcycle crash, putting Dylan out of commission and forcing him into hiding in Woodstock, New York.

By the summer of 1967, when psychedelic music was running rampant, Dylan was slowly joined by members of The Hawks—now known simply as The Band—and began recording basement jams of folk standards as Dylan recuperated from his crash. The jams quickly evolved into original Bob Dylan compositions, initiating a completely new era of Dylan’s songcraft, both lyrically and compositionally. Gone were the protest refrains, surrealist verses, heavy subject matter and epic song-lengths that had dominated his work in the previous six albums. The songs were more concise, lyrically free-form and nonsensical, the arrangements Americana—the complete opposite of the music being played outside that basement studio in Woodstock, New York, which The Band called The Pig Pink. What’s more, the recordings pioneered the Lo-Fi Movement: sonic clarity was abandoned to capture the laid-back mood and atmosphere and the performances were even sloppy at times!

But the hundreds of songs that Dylan and The Band produced at this time remained unheard to the general public aside from bootlegs and the inner-circle of music publishing brokers. It wasn’t until the end of 1967 when Dylan released his subdued and stripped folk album John Wesley Harding, which echoed all the musical components he had developed in the basement of The Big Pink earlier that year. Brilliant as it was, the album was an entirely different set of songs; absent were the Big Pink classics, apparently reserved for other artists through a collection of 14 of Dylan’s Big Pink songs circulated as a publishing demo tape for his own Dwarf Music.

After almost a decade of bootlegging what was known as Dylan’s unheard masterpieces, 1975’s The Basement Tapes was the official word from the mouth of the man himself, a 2LP collection of selected Big Pink basement recordings. But was a true representation of these basement tapes really what the public received? Most of the material was slightly altered with new overdubs for a more “releasable” sound; the songs were mixed to duophonic fake stereo; Dylan’s tracks were interspersed with The Band’s originals that were never recorded during the Big Pink Sessions; and die-hard fans noticed the lack of some of Dylan’s most classic recordings.

This is an attempt to rectify those errors and omissions, and recreate what never was … What if the material recorded during the original Big Pink Sessions had been an actual official album, released in 1967, in-between Blonde On Blonde and John Wesley Harding? I have assembled the best of the 1967 basement tapes, remixed them into true stereo and created a cohesive album, the Dylan masterpiece that never was.

How does one create an album that never was, to choose 12 or 14 from a list of hundreds of recordings? This is a daunting task for anyone, especially when this is a Bob Dylan album. It’s impossible to know what this man had intended so many years ago—we don’t know what he’s intending at any given time in the present! But we do have a big clue that serves as a starting point and how to construct a 1967 album of Big Pink material.

Our first clue is in the form of the 14-song Dwarf Music demo. These were the songs shopped around in the fall if 1967 to music publishers, in the hopes to sell the songs as hits for other artists. The tracklist was: Million Dollar Bash; Yea! Heavy and A Bottle Of Bread; Please Mrs. Henry; Crash on The Levee; Lo and Behold!; Tiny Montgomery; This Wheel’s On Fire; You Ain’t Goin Nowhere; I Shall Be Released; Tears Of Rage; Too Much Of Nothing; Quinn The Eskimo; Open The Door, Homer; Nothing Was Delivered. These 14 songs are pretty much the core of the quality Dylan originals from the Big Pink Sessions, which is further supported by their inclusion on The Basement Safety Tape, two reels of backup stereo masters. If there was ever an album planned for this material, this was it, or something close to it.

Although the track selection itself is rather strong, the problem is the sequencing. The majority of the “nonsense songs” (“Lo and Behold!”, “Yea! Heavy and A Bottle Of Bread”, etc.) are grouped together as the first half of the album, while the more refined “serious” songs (“I Shall Be Released”, “Too Much Of Nothing”, etc.) are grouped together at the end of the album. My reconstruction attempts to spread the fun songs amongst the serious songs to add an element of balance. Also note that the track “Odds and Ends” was used as the opening number, effectively replacing “Tiny Montgomery” in the running order due to time constraints and quality control (It was also appropriately excluded from the Basement Safety Tape stereo reels). Notice that thus we have alternate versions of “Too Much Of Nothing” and “Nothing Was Delivered.” Finally, two 20-minute sides were constructed as per industry standards at the time.

Sources used for my set were the remastered, pitch-corrected and cleaned-up versions taken from the A Tree With Roots bootleg box set and the Complete Basement Safety Tape. They are all the original recordings, minus the extraneous overdubs The Band had recorded in 1975. All tracks existed in their master stereo 2-track form with both tracks panned hard and left. For my recreation, I chose to create a more palatable stereo remix: the track 1 (vocal/guitar/piano) is panned at 1 o’clock and the remaining track 2 (bass/organ/drums/lead guitar) is panned at 9 o’clock. The effect is a vocal track mostly centered--but slightly to the right--so that the reverb appears to move into the right channel, with the remaining instruments panned to the left. The mix becomes cleaner and more enjoyable, giving space and atmosphere non-existent on the originals, albeit a less dense mix since they are minus the later-day overdubs. This benefits “I Shall Be Released” and “Quinn The Eskimo” the most, as they were never released in stereo form whatsoever.

This album’s reconstruction allows the listener a better insight to the attitude and stripped-down demeanor of the original sessions, offering a concise and cohesive package of the sessions which can fit nicely into Dylan’s discography. Artwork is included. Enjoy, and “there was no more to tell…"

From November 1969 to August 1970, Jimi Hendrix set out to record the follow-up to his psychedelic odyssey Electric Ladyland. At first utilizing his Band of Gypsies line-up of bassist Billy Cox and drummer Buddy Miles, Mitch Mitchell was later brought back behind the kit and the trio recorded an abundance of material in various states of completion over those 10 months. The songs had a decidingly funkier tone than Hendrix’s previous psychedelic and hard rock explorations, and were heavily influenced by R&B and soul as well as heavy psyche-rock. Jimi Hendrix’s fourth studio album was to be a double-LP, called First Rays of The New Rising Sun.

Unfortunately that never happened as Hendrix passed away in September 1970, leaving the album half-finished. After gaining control of Hendrix’s catalog, producer Alan Douglas gathered the unfinished tracks and released them posthumously, sprinkled across a number of bastardized Hendrix releases over the next few years. The majority of the tracks were released on 1971’s The Cry of Love, with a few more that year on Rainbow Bridge, War Heroes and Loose Ends in 1974. And there the songs remained, uncollected as the final masterpiece he had originally intended. That is until 1997 when The Hendrix Estate gained control of the original master recordings and compiled the material as their take on Jimi’s unreleased masterpiece First Rays of The New Rising Sun. But through improper song choice and sequencing, terrible brickwalled and clipping mastering and cheesy Photoshop cover art, Hendrix aficionados pointed out that the album still missed the mark, even under the guise of being official.

This is an attempt to recreate what would be Jimi Hendrix’s final album, First Rays of The New Rising Sun. The track sequencing and song selection follows closer to what is believed Hendrix intended, and attempts to be true to his artistic vision in 1970 based on recording histories, interviews and handwritten tracklists. Also, all tracks are taken from alternate sources to avoid the clipping, over-compressed mastering found on the 1997 official release, using mostly vinyl rips of original 1971 pressings. All tracks are tightly crossfaded into four continuous sides of music, as Hendrix might have had intended.

How do we know what would have been on First Rays of The New Rising Sun? Realistically, we don’t. But there are a number of clues which Jimi has left us, in which we can make a very educated guess.

First off, a note about the sources used: One of the disheartening points of the 1997 release of First Rays of The New Rising Sun was the over-the-top, super-compressed mastering, in which all tracks clip numerous times throughout the song, hiding certain frequencies and decreasing the dynamics overall. All sources on my reconstruction are from high-quality transfers of the original vinyl pressings. In comparison, these mixes are cleaner and more pristine than the modern CD release, vinylhound’s rips being extraordinarily excellent. The only exception is “Drifter’s Escape”, as I found the soundquality of the vinyl version extremely muddy (a characteristic of the album itself). Instead I used the original CD version taken from the Japanese pressing of the album in 1989, which was possibly remixed. The sonics of that version more closely matched that of the pristine rips of the rest of the songs, making my construction sound more unified.

The first clues to reconstructing First Rays of The New Rising Sun are a handwritten list of 24 song contenders for the album (included with this torrent for reference). Next is a handwritten tracklist on the back of a 3M tapebox (also included in this torrent) which maps out the tentative track orders for the first three sides of the album. While Side C was obviously uncertain and in a state of flux, Sides A and B seemed to be finalized. Jimi had already decided on the running order of the first disc himself! Our job is already half done!

A closer look at Jimi’s tracklist for disc one should tell us a lot about what disc two would have been like: both sides start and end with an uptempo rocker (“Dolly Dagger” and “Ezy Ryder”). Both sides also close with an uptempo rocker (“Freedom” and “Straight Ahead”) Also, there is one of the more idiosyncratic songs in the middle (the bluesy, stripped down “Belly Button Window” and the atmospheric ballad “Drifting”). The second track on each side was also an uptempo groove-rocker, but could be characterized as slightly more experimental in design, as sort of continuing the energy level of the openers, but allowing room for the side to grow (“Night Bird Flying” on Side A and “Astro Man” on Side B). Many frown upon “Belly Button Window”’s early placement on Hendrix’s sequence, but I feel it’s an interesting diversion from the pace of the album, a function “Drifting” also utilizes and a pattern I’ll repeat on Sides C and D.

It has been much debated about the length of Side B—was it supposed to be only 4 songs, running about 16 minutes? Isn’t that a little short? I am under the belief that it is NOT too short, that this is what Hendrix intended. When listening to Side B, one still gets the impression of the complete side of an album, with “Straight Ahead” giving closure to disc 1. Also a short, 16-minute side was not uncommon at the time, and the total length of disc one is thus approximately 35 minutes. In summary, disc 1 was very straight forward in design, and one can postulate disc 2’s construction based on these parameters, creating a second 9-song, 35-minute disc.

The second step is to narrow down the list of contenders for disc 2. The remaining tracks that are available that Hendrix was perfecting the summer of his death (and are in a some-what commercially releasable status) are: Angel, Beginnings, Bleeding Heart, Cherokee Mist, Come Down Hard On Me, Drifter’s Escape, Earth Blues, Hey Baby, In From The Storm, Izabella, Lover Man, Midnight Lightning, Stepping Stone and Valleys of Neptune (note that My Friends is excluded because it was never a contender for the album, not even recorded during the First Rays sessions). Of those 14, we would only need 9 to match the first disc, and it is quite easy to narrow the list down. When listening to the first disc, one can easily hear the unified musical direction Hendrix was aiming for, and it is obvious which of these 13 tracks would easily fit in based on the funky musical elements rather than a blues-based element (including percussive overdubs, backing vocals and psychedelic mixing characteristics). When examining the sonic design, these tracks match disc one and are also the most “complete” songs of an album that was never completed anyways: Angel, Bleeding Heart, Drifter’s Escape, Earth Blues, In From The Storm, Izabella and Stepping Stone. These seven should be fitted onto disc 2, leaving two more to choose from the remaining bluesy “skeletal” batch of songs.

Choosing two from the remaining seven “skeletal” songs was for me an easy choice, but admittedly comes down to personal preference. One could not have First Rays of The New Rising Sun without its title track, so “Hey Baby” is chosen. Of the remaining six (Beginnings, Cherokee Mist, Come Down Hard On Me, Lover Man, Midnight Lightning and Valleys of Neptune), Beginnings seems to be the most refined and release-ready and musically equivalent to the other 17. Perhaps more than coincidentally, both songs were among the original 1971-released songs. When added up, these 9 songs approximate 35 minutes—remarkably matching disc one! All that is left is to determine the track order.

When constructing Side C, we must examine Hendrix’s notes. This third side did not seem finalized, as half the songs were crossed out, and two of them were too skeletal and did not even make my cut! Furthermore, if you assembled a side matching Hendrix’s rough, scratched out list, the result is a side that is too long and musically ununified, much unlike the previous two sides. Although, we do know that “Drifter’s Escape”, “Beginnings” and “Angel” will belong on this side so we reserve space on Side C for all three. If we look at the remaining 6 songs, the best contender for an opener for the second disc would be the hard-rocker “Earth Blues”. It is then followed by the ‘second-track’ experimental-groover, which is “Drifter’s Escape” (which Hendrix had slated also). The only instrumental on the entire album, “Beginnings” is fitted into the middle of the Side C as a sort of middle-point interlude, a type of intermission if you will. My mix hard-edits the intro into the end of “Drifter’s Escape”. This is followed by the token ‘idiosyncratic’ song in the middle of a side (much like “Belly Button Window” and “Drifting”), the unearthly ballad “Angel”. Although Hendrix had penciled in “Angel” to close Side C, I chose to follow the precedent of the first two sides and close the Side C with the uptempo rocker, “Izabella”. This song had been a blemish with many First Ray historians, as it was difficult to find an appropriate place for the song. But when crossfaded into the closing bass-run of “Angel”—descending to D major, the same key as “Izabella”--the choice is obvious. We are left with a solid 18:45 five-song side, comparable to Hendrix’s Side A.

We have 4 songs remaining to occupy side D, making a perfect fit: “Stepping Stone” acts as the side-opening rocker, “Bleeding Heart” acts as the second-track experimental-groover; “Hey Baby” acts as the mid-side idiosyncratic track; and “In From The Storm” acts as the epic side-closer. Just as Side B, we have a shorter 4-song side that totals exactly 17-minutes. Not too shabby! In the end we have a two-disc set, each with approximately 35-minutes worth of music. The songs are unified and cohesive and flow together perfectly. Lastly, I included an original watercolor by Jimi Hendrix himself for the cover art, the original version of what was later used on the Valleys of Neptune compilation. I felt the original more appropriate with this collection. Enjoy!

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Side A:1. One After 9092. Rocker/Save The Last Dance For Me
3. Don't Let Me Down
4. Dig A Pony
5. I've Got A Feeling
6. For You Blue
7. Get BackSide B:8. Dig It
9. Let It Be
10. Maggie Mae
11. Two Of Us
12. I Me Mine
13. The Long And Winding Road
14. Across The Universe

In January 1969, The Beatles set out to record the follow-up to The White Album, an album that would recapture their youthful spirit and comradery, something that they had lost since returning from India. The album was to be recorded entirely live with no overdubs, a throwback to their first albums, and would be called Get Back. Unfortunately, things did not pan out as they intended. Paul seemed disinterested in doing George’s songs, George seemed disinterested in Paul’s songs, and John seemed disinterested in the project as a whole. The performances were sloppy and The Beatles emitted all-around bad vibes. After a month of rehearsing and recording the same batch of 10-or-so songs and a vast number of pointless jams and improvisations, The Beatles walked away from the failed project to record Abbey Road.

Later that year, Glyn Johns constructed a rough cut of the album that was very disappointing. Well Lennon did request the album to “show The Beatles with their pants down”, this first mix of Get Back showed the Beatles naked from the waste down! Not only did Johns select lackluster takes, but his version contained little cohesion. A second version was constructed in 1970, one that excluded much unneeded and embarrassing chatter and included a newly-recorded “I Me Mine” and an old recording of “Across The Universe“, but it too was ultimately scrapped.

The next phase of the now-infamous “lost Beatles album” was guided by the hand of Phil Spector. In contrast to Glyn Johns, Spector did choose better takes of the material, but he broke the cardinal rule of the Get Back Session’s ethos; no overdubs. He added (what many Beatles fans, including McCartney himself) unneeded orchestration to the songs, thus robbing them of their live-band feel. He also excluded “Don’t Let Me Down” from the album, which is just madness.

In 2003, McCartney and Starr approved a remix and reconstruction of the Get Back album, closer to what The Beatles intended. Let It Be… Naked was the best of all 4 versions of these recordings, as the modern age had served the music well; the engineers were able to clean up the tapes and used a more appropriate centralized stereophonic mixing. This was not without it’s own drawbacks, though: the exclusion of “Maggie Mae” and “Dig It” left a surprising large void on the album; all the tracks suspiciously featured quick fade outs that in effect excluded the song’s good humor and spirit; and the track sequence was simply awkward.

The purpose of this reconstruction of the Get Back album is to attempt to successfully create the album that The Beatles set out to make in 1969, as all four versions of the Get Back/Let It Be albums were fatally flawed in some way. My reconstruction divides the material into two groups, featured on each side of the album: Side A features mainly the songs performed on The Beatles’ rooftop performance, and Side B features the remainder of the songs from the session, the “in-studio” songs. Also, most of the basic mixes used are the superior Let It Be…Naked versions, but interplayed with chatter and linking material pulled from either Phil Spector’s Let It Be or the second Glyn Johns mix of Let It Be. The bootleg source of the later is from Dr. Ebbitt’s phenomenal remaster. An attempt was made to include the best takes of the material, while also retaining the loose and improvisational spirit of the sessions--a mock Beatles live recording. The track sequence was designed for cohesion and flow. So, enjoy the Beatles album that never was, a fantastic album that fits perfectly as the link between The White Album and Abbey Road…

6. For You BlueJohn’s adlib intro from the LIB is edited onto the LIBN mix.

7. Get BackThis is the LIBN mix with the tuning intro and John’s infamous “Thanks!” from LIB edited onto the LIBN mix, to conclude the rooftop performance side of the album.

SIDE B:

8. Dig ItStarting the in-studio side of the album, this is the extended mix found on GB2, faded in at the same point as found on LIB. It goes onto the ending with John’s quip and introduction of Let It Be...

9. Let It BeThis is the version found on LIBN.

10. Maggie MaeThis is the version found on LIB.

11. Two Of UsThis is the crystal clear mix found on LIBN.

12. I Me MineHere the introduction from GB2 is edited onto the mix found on LIBN.

13. The Long And Winding RoadRingo and Paul’s chatter from GB2 is edited onto the superior take from LIBN

14. Across The UniverseThe album concludes with the fantastic remix found on LIBN.

SIDE A:(Our Prayer)Heroes and VillainsVege-TablesDo You like Worms?Child is Father of the ManThe Old Master PainterCabin Essence

SIDE B:Good VibrationsWonderfulI’m In Great ShapeWind ChimesThe ElementsSurf’s Up

You might say: What is
this exactly? I already have SMiLE, don’t I? Well, this is a
reconstruction of The Beach Boys' album SMiLE as if it had been released
in 1967. SMiLE aficionados know that the album Brian Wilson released
in 2004 was not what SMiLE would have sounded like. They also know the
recently released 2011 SMiLE Sessions box set is not what it would have
sounded like either.

But what WOULD it have sounded like?

Based
on the evidence at hand, it sounded much like this torrent: It would
be in mono, not stereo; it would be a two-sided LP and no longer than 40
or so minutes, not a 3-part suite; it would have been 12 pop songs with
a lead single starting each side, as the norm was in 1967.

After
over a decade of research, I have assembled what I believe SMiLE would
have sounded like if it had been completed in 1967. I have used the
best possible sources to achieve the best possible soundquality, using
almost exclusively material found on the SMiLE Sessions box set (unless
noted below). All mixes were modeled after vintage Brian Wilson mixes
from 1966 and 1967, unless he had never made them (in that case,
influence from the Mark Linett mixes were drawn).

This mix is
the final upgrade to what was previously distributed as the
soniclovenoize Authentic Mix. There were some historical inaccuracies
that are rectified here. Also as previously stated, upgraded
sound-sources are used here. No fly-ins from modern releases were used
to complete a song, only 1967 source material (with the exception of
Surf’s Up, Cabin Essence and Our Prayer, of course).

This
authentic mix is all in mono (as it would have been released) but an
alternative stereo mix is presented for you audiophiles. Artwork and
md5 files is also included, as well as txt files explaining it's
construction.

00. Our PrayerOne thing we can be certain about is that “Our Prayer” was meant to open the album. It is thus listed as track 00, an introduction.

01. Heroes and VillainsEvidence shows that the 3 minute February 1967 mix of “Heroes and Villains” Brian completed was meant to be THE mix for SMiLE, commonly known as ‘The Cantina Version’. Excluded are the ‘Bicycle Rider’ choruses stolen from “Do You like Worms”, as well as the many barbershop refrains used to create the theoretical b-side, “Heroes and Villains part 2”. All we have is a 3-minute musical comedy, meant to be the lead single of the album. The aforementioned “Heroes and Villains part 2” is left off of this SMiLE because if it had existed, it would have been a b-side only release and not a part of the actual SMiLE album.

02. Vege-TeblesMany fragments were recorded, but the track was never properly assembled by Brian, as “Vege-Tables” and the previous track were the last remaining hope of the project when his attentions were focused upon them for to create a hit single. Since no finished vintage edit exists, the construction of my version is based on Mark Linett’s blueprint, although missing the inappropriate reprise of the 2nd verse, which disrupts the winding-down flow of the song.

03. Do You like Worms?My own edit, assembled together here for a finished song, including the ‘Bicycle Rider’ chorus, played twice. 04. Child is Father of the ManThis is the mono mix taken from The SMiLE Sessions CD1, as Linett based his mix upon vintage Wilson test mixes. 05. The Old Master PainterIs it a coincidence that the last notes of “Child is Father of The Man” match up perfectly to the beginning notes of “The Old Master Painter”? I think not. The remake of the “Heroes and Villains Fade” was used here to end the song since the original fade was already used in trackm 1. I’d say the bird calls here are much more appropriate, don’t you?06. Cabin EssenceWhen constructing the two sides of the album, you need to ask yourself: how would one end each side of an album? With the epic song that could not logically be followed. The answer is of course “Cabin Essence” for Side A.

SIDE B:07. Good VibrationsAlthough never officially a part of the SMiLE project, Capitol wanted “Good Vibrations” placement on the album to ensure commercial success, and the Music Industry standard at the time would to have placed that ‘Cash Cow Single’ at the front of Side B. Presented here is the 45 mix, as would have on a 1967 SMiLE album. 08. WonderfulThis mix is taken from The SMiLE Sessions CD1, replicating one of the few he completed in 1967. 09. I’m In Great ShapePresented here is the proposed four-part ‘Barnyard Suite’ that Brian Wilson allegedly intended to create. Although it is highly debated that this might not have existed, it is in my opinion fairly easy to postulate what it would have consisted of (if indeed it had existed). Beginning, we have the obvious “Barnyard”, crossfading into the title fragment “I’m In Great Shape”. From there an edit into “I Wanna Be Around” and “Workshop Song”, both labeled as pieces of “I’m In Great Shape” on their tape boxes. If the ‘Barnyard Suite’ ever existed, it would have sounded like this. 10. Wind ChimesThis is the mono mix from The SMiLE Sessions, but re-edited without the ending reprises to match Brian’s original test mixes from 1967.11. The ElementsOne of the most highly debated subjects of the SMiLE lore, no one is quite sure what it exactly would have consisted of, except for the Fire fragment (“Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow”). My mix postulates the previous tracks “I’m In Great Shape” and “Wind Chimes” represent the Earth and Wind elements respectively, and that the reaming two elements of Fire and Water are featured in the actual track entitled “The Elements”. Here we begin with the “Intro to Heroes and Villains” used to introduce the Fire segment. While not an authentic Brian Wilson intention (it’s placement into “The Elements” was by Mark Linett), it is used here because the fragment was not used in the “Heroes and Villains” track, and is thus fair-game. After a crossfade into “Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow”, we go into “I Love To Say Da-Da”, a song that eventually evolved into “Cool Cool Water” (how obvious). Missing is the “Water Chant” in-between the Fire and Water sections because it was not actually recorded during or meant for SMiLE. Unique to my mix, I also synched the “Underwater Chant” and the flute and percussion flourishes from an alternate take of “I Love To Say Da-Da” from the SMiLE Sessions box set to finish the song, effectively replacing Mike’s rather uninventive and infantile “Wah-wah oo wow”. 12. Surf’s UpNot only do sources claim this was always intended to finish the album, but where else would one of the greatest pop songs go, other than as the finale to one of the greatest pop albums?

Suite one:1. Our Prayer/Gee2. Heroes and Villains3. Do You Like Worms?4. Barnyard5. The Old Master Painter/You Are My Sunshine6. Cabin EssenceSuite two:7. Wonderful8. Look9. Child is Father of The man10. Surf's UpSuite three:11. I'm In Great Shape/I Wanna Be Around/Workshop Song12. Vege-Tables13. Holiday14. Wind Chimes15. Mrs. O'Leary's Cow16. I Love To Say Da-Da17. Good Vibrations

This is a completely stereo construction of SMiLE, using only the best source material (mostly from the SMiLE Sessions box set).

Tracklist
was constructed based solely on the sequence devised by Brian and
Darian for the 2004 album Brian Wilson Presents SMiLE. Approximations
were used for the original orchestral linking tracks composed by Darian
in 2004. All tracks are either crossfaded or hard-edited to create
three continuous movements, as per BWPS.

Absolutely no fly-ins
from the 2004 Brian Wilson Presents SMiLE were used. In my opinion, I
believe that to be anachronistic and contrary to the project itself. It
would be like drawing a moustache on the Mona Lisa. I would rather
have an instrumental track than a combination of 1967 and 2004
recordings. Also note mono mixes from TSS were excluded in my synchs if
it was obvious that the makers had also flown-in unnecessary
pitch-corrected bits.

Track notes:1. Our Prayer/GeeStereo mix created by mixing the 20/20 stereo version of Our Prayer with the remastered mono found on TSS, thus the 20/20 version becomes the stereophonic reverb of the mono mix. Gee is taken from TSS.

3. Do You Like WormsMy own unique stereo mix, returning the Bicycle Rider chorus for both the first and second time. Also note the slow panning of the Bicycle Rider Theme from right to left, symbolizing the pioneer’s journey from the East to the West (what the piece originally represented to Brian).

4. BarnyardA synch of the mono mix found on disc 1 of TSS panned to the left and the instrumental mix found on disc 2 panned to the right, thus creating a stereophonic room effect.

5. The Old Master Painter/You Are My SunshineA synch of the mono mix found on disc 1 of TSS and the stereo instrumental mix found on disc 2, to create a stereophonic room effect.

6. Cabin EssenceThe stereo mix found on the remastered 20/20.

7. WonderfulA stereo mix created by superimposing, onto the mono mix found on disc 1 of TSS, a reverbed double with a high-pass filter panned to the left and a reverbed double with a low-pass filter panned to the right, thus giving the illusion of the harpsichord to the right and bass to the left. Reverb was mixed to match other songs found on the album (notably Wind Chimes).

8. LookThe stereo instrumental found on disc 3 of TSS, edited to match the structure of the BWPS version.

9. Child is Father of The ManA synch of the stereo backing tracks found on TSS with the mono mix, also found on TSS. The structure was edited to match that of BWPS (major key verses, chorus, major-key verse, chorus, minor-key verse). The unused bridge from TSS stereo tracking was used to replace the linking outro on BWPS; it was edited onto the minor-key fade, matching the descending bass riff.

10. Surf’s UpThe stereo mix taken from TSS 2LP

11. I’m In Great Shape/I Wanna Be Around/The Workshop SongThe solo piano tracking piece from the Cantina section of Heroes and Villains was used to replicate Darian’s intro on the BWPS version. Then follows a synch between the instrumental backing and the piano/vocal demo, both found on disc 2 of TSS. The track is then crossfaded into a synch of the stereo backing track of Friday Night, with the carpentry effects slowly being panned from left to right, to match the eventual placement of the Vege-Tables percussion.

12. Vege-TablesThis is the stereo mix found on TSS 2LP, but edited to match the structure of the BWPS version. The upbeat Sleep A Lot chorus with percussion and glockenspiel was used instead of the a capella/whistling version, simply because it fit better and seemed like the more intended and “complete” section recorded in 1967.

13. HolidaySimply the stereo mix found on TSS disc 4

14. Wind ChimesThis is the stereo mix found on TSS 2LP, but edited to match the structure of the BWPS version.

16. I Love To Say Da-DaFirst is the Water Chant taken from the Unsurpassed Masters vol 17 bootleg, segued into the I Love To Say Da-Da stereo backing track from TSS disc 4. Note that Mike Love’s “lead” vocal is absent. This is because it’s inclusion would have compromised the soundquality, and a decision was made that the vocal was rather unnecessary and that the song, when put into context of The Elements as a whole, seemed more appropriate remaining as an instrumental.

17. Good VibrationsMy own synch of the stereo backing tracks and mono mixes found on both TSS disc 5 and the Good Vibrations 40th Anniversary remaster to match the structure of the BWPS version. A combination of those two sources were used to create a mix with the original telepathy lyric but with the commonly-heard chorus of the revised single version. The hum-dee-dou middle is used, as well as the longer fade-out. The first verse’s tape-warble was also removed. This synch is an upgrade from my previous one, as I was able to eliminate the accidental phasing just before the second chorus.